Outreach/ Workshops
Lou Williamson Jazz Award
2025 submissions are now being accepted!
Submission Deadline: Friday May 23, 2025
The Lou Williamson Scholarship Fund and Victoria Jazz Society are pleased to announce the LOU WILLIAMSON JAZZ AWARD, a $2000 cash award to encourage a talented high school student to continue their music studies in jazz.
Click “Learn More” below for more details.
Pictured (left to right) at the Royal Theatre: Lora McIntosh (Victoria Jazz Society), Cole Ashley (2022 Lou Williamson Jazz Award Recipient), Chris Millington (Lou Williamson Scholarship Fund). Photo taken by TD JazzFest volunteer Richard Hum.
jazz in the schools
Jazz In The Schools is a community outreach and education program that takes place during the society’s Fall/Winter/Spring Concert Presentation Series. This program, originally started in 2009, enhances the music education of Greater Victoria high school students and extends the VJS’s community outreach programming beyond what is mandated.
"Great audience participation. Great stories and explanations of style and beat. Best workshop yet… Learned a lot!"
Workshops/Clinic information
The Victoria Jazz Society presents workshop/clinics during both TD Victoria International JazzFest and its Fall/Winter/Spring Presentation Series.
These Workshop/Clinics are hosted by touring musicians for the benefit and development of our local musicians. They are attended by musicians with varying skill levels – from middle and high school music students, to professional performing musicians. These Workshop/Clinics are open to and attended by the general public, and are presented at no charge to all attendees. The VJS believes these programs are instrumental and irreplaceable in the development of our local music students.
The tutoring provided during these clinics not only inspires the young virtuosos by hands-on instruction, but the residual effects in the student’s commitment is carried forward in their desire to learn the instrument, music, and the benefits from of practice. It is enlightening for the guest musicians and their pupils to both leave with a converging sense of accomplishment. In the past, artists that have hosted these Workshop/Clinics include Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Cory Henry, Lakecia Benjamin, Joshua Redman, Christine and Ingrid Jensen, Larnell Lewis, Christian McBride, Julian Lage, Emmet Cohen, and many more. The Victoria Jazz Society is a stakeholder in promoting our young talent and is very proud of the program.
The Victoria Jazz Society Workshop/Clinics are presented with the generous support of Canadian Heritage. The TD Victoria International JazzFest Workshop/Clinics are presented with the generous support of TD.
As part of the Victoria Jazz Society’s community outreach programming, registration for these Workshop/Clinics is free! Please contact the VJS Office at 250-388-4423 or email [email protected] with your name and phone number to register when the programs become available. Space for these Workshop/Clinics are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get your name in early to avoid disappointment!
“The workshop was amazing! It was a unique opportunity to interact with and learn from a leading musician and expand our ideas about musicians.”
Free to Attend Performances
The Victoria Jazz Society includes “free-to-attend” performances by local, national, and international artists in the programming of its two annual festivals.
TD Victoria International JazzFest presents “free-to-attend” performances at the Cameron Bandshell in Victoria’s iconic Beacon Hill Park as well as on the “TD Main Stage” at Bullen Park in the Township of Esquimalt, next to the Archie Browning Sports Arena.
In addition, TD JazzFest programs several pop-up performances around downtown Victoria at different outdoor locations, hosted by local Victoria musicians.
Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival presents afternoon “free-to-attend” performances on the “Ship Point Main Outdoor Stage” in Victoria’s inner harbour, between 800-900 block Wharf St.
The diverse “free-to-attend” programming of TD Victoria International JazzFest and Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival on the outdoor stages provide opportunities for music lovers of all ages and income levels to attend performances at both festivals at no cost, enabling a greater exposure to a vast range of music for audiences in Victoria and allowing an appreciation for and love of music to develop for a greater audience.
Student Ticket Discounts
Each fiscal year, the VJS disperses or discounts a large number of tickets to VJS performances.
The VJS believes that providing students with free or reduced price tickets increases the access for students to the music, and encourages their musical development and helps to build an audience base for future VJS presentations, while aiding in diversifying our existing audience.